The CWPS Blog

The Advantages of Using Microsoft Teams and Planner Together - CWPS

While Microsoft Teams is a complete collaboration solution, it can still be augmented with the use of project management and task management technologies. Microsoft Planner is a task management tool that is easy to directly integrate with the rest of Microsoft Teams, adding value and effectiveness for employees.

What is Microsoft Planner?

Microsoft Planner is a task management and organizational system with a focus on providing a visual way for teams to organize the work they need to do. Planner includes note taking, a calendar, the ability to attach files, and dashboards through which individuals can track, organize, and complete their tasks independently.

Even complex projects can be broken down into simple, achievable steps through a task management solution. Team leaders can quickly allocate tasks to team members, while team members can easily view the tasks they have assigned and prioritize them according to deadlines and importance.

However, if Microsoft Planner is used alone, team members need to check the Planner solution for updates and information manually. This can be less than desirable; if employees forget to check an additional platform, they won't have the information they need. This is where it becomes advantageous to integrate the planning solution with Office 365 Microsoft Teams.

Advantages of Using Microsoft Teams + Planner Together

View the Planner from the Microsoft Teams platform. Integrating the Microsoft Team Planner with Office 365 Microsoft Teams makes it easier to assign tasks to individual employees. When integrated, tasks can be launched and assigned within the Microsoft Teams platform, eliminating the need to switch back and forth between platforms. All tasks can be viewed through Microsoft Teams as well as the Microsoft Planner, making it less likely employees could potentially miss a vital task they need to complete.

Easily attach Microsoft Teams files to Microsoft Planner tasks. Office 365 Integration makes it possible to easily attach necessary files so that employees can consult the relevant documentation at will. This improves productivity and, again, makes it less likely employee can miss something; when all the documentation is at their fingertips, they'll be empowered to complete tasks more efficiently.

Increase transparency and improve teamwork. Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Planner can increase visibility and transparency, by making it easier for team members to see which tasks have been assigned and who they have been assigned to. This ultimately reduces the chances that work could potentially be duplicated while keeping everyone on the same page.

Through Microsoft Planner and Microsoft Teams, team leaders will easily be able to review the current workload of employees, assign new tasks, and follow up on tasks that are important or may be falling behind. Employees can understand their workload better and follow through independently, without having to take additional steps to figure out which tasks they should best be prioritizing.

One of the major advantages to Microsoft Teams is its ability to integrate with software solutions such as the Microsoft Team Planner. If your team hasn't switched to Microsoft Teams yet, it may be time. If you need to migrate to Teams, CWPS can help.